Veteran sharpshooter Klay Thompson was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, and years later, it’s clear that he was more than worthy of being drafted in the lottery.
Thompson is one of the most accomplished players from his entire draft class, as he’s a four-time NBA champion, five-time All-Star and ranks among the all-time leaders in league history in 3s made.
However, according to Thompson’s father Mychal, former Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn told the elder Thompson before the draft that his son was “not a first-round pick.”
“You know what David Kahn told me at the time? He’s not a first round pick.” 😭
Mychal Thompson shares some INSANE conversations with the Timberwolves, Hornets, and Kings who all elected to pass on Klay Thompson in the 2011 NBA draft.@MichelleDBeadle | @TeamLou23 |… pic.twitter.com/8KdNaryEpU
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 4, 2025
Kahn’s Timberwolves had the No. 2 overall pick in that year’s draft, and they used it on forward Derrick Williams.
Williams starred at the collegiate level while playing for the University of Arizona but ultimately wasn’t able to parlay his success from college over to the NBA. While he was a solid role player at the top level, he never averaged more than 12 points per game in a single season in the NBA and lasted just seven seasons in the league.
When the Warriors used a first-round pick to draft the younger Thompson, he had just finished a standout 2010-11 campaign at Washington State University. He led his conference with 21.6 points per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from 3-point range across 34 contests played as a junior.
The younger Thompson managed to translate his success from the collegiate ranks to the NBA, as he’s had an illustrious career in the league. But he’s also had a rough maiden season playing for the Dallas Mavericks, at least by his standards, after leaving the Warriors in the 2024 offseason.
He’s averaging just 14.2 points per game so far in the 2024-25 campaign for a Mavericks team that has taken a major step back compared to a season ago. Dallas reached the 2024 NBA Finals, yet the Mavericks are in grave danger of missing out on the playoffs entirely when they start up later on this month. The team is currently in the play-in field.
